Beauty
by fled is that music
Summary: Born with eternal beauty, a young prince falls in love with the only person who is able to see him for what he truly is; a monster.


**Beauty**

* * *

><p>The young prince came forward, taking in the young mistress that stood before him. Her flawless porcelain skin seemed to glow in the lightly dimmed room, locks of loose black curls came down to her waist and her oddly colored pale lips caught the princes attention above all else – that was until her large emerald eyes met his.<p>

"So," the prince spoke sternly, trying to sound indifferent to the affect her appearance had on him. "You are the beauty that destroyed a city?"

Without any remorse on her face she nodded, smiling sweetly at the young prince.

Looking away from the beautiful girl, the prince spoke. "For your crimes, you shall be hanged."

The young lady smiled and came forward. "Dear dear prince, you are very handsome."

The prince looked before him to see the flawless beauty an inch away. Though he saw nothing of pure perfection he could smell the tinge of blood and death on her skin.

But nevertheless, he was hypnotized by her beauty and had only one thing on his mind. One urge in which he was fighting, yet the only urge that came so naturally to him – and to any man who ever had the opportunity.

As he looked into her emerald green hues, she placed her hands on his chest, inching closer to him.

"Yes, you are very handsome indeed." she said, smiling at the prince and resting a hand on his cheek. "I would have died a thousand deaths to be with a man like you when I was young."

The prince parted his lips. "I...I have never seen such beauty, mistress – you are Aphrodite."

Her smile grew wider. "Yes, I am." Looking deep into the princes eyes, she saw that he spoke with truth – and within knowing this, she knew she could have anything she wanted.

Yet her freedom was too easy of a thing to ask for.

Brushing back the princes hair she said, "If I am to be executed, I wish a favor from you, my dear sweet prince."

"Anything," the prince said breathlessly.

Leaning forward, her lips against his ear, she whispered - "Have me." - gently licking his ear.

The prince then embraced her in his arms, placing his lips against hers passionately.

* * *

><p>"I love you, my lady. I wish to marry you."<p>

The prince stared in awe of the beautiful woman as she rose from bed, her naked flesh as vibrant as white snow. She walked towards the princes table, grabbing the silk rob that rested on a nearby chair and wrapped herself around the fabric. Her face had no expression as she seated herself, facing the prince, waiting to hear the rest of his confession of love for a person he once wanted dead.

"My prince," she explained. "My dear naive prince. Why on earth would I marry a man who wanted to have me executed?

Ignoring her question, the prince went on. "You gave yourself to me, and I to you. We are -"

"We are what?" She yelled, throwing her hands in the air as she spoke. "Bound by the heavens? Honestly it never ceases to amaze me how many men and women think that the act of sex can be anything more than just that with a person they barley know." Her voice was filled with spite as she looked at the prince with disgust. "How pathetic you are, stupid child."

"My lady, please forgive me if I offend." The prince begged as he quickly got out of his bed. He rushed to her, kneeling down before her, clutching at her feet. "Please my lady, I love you."

The mistress sighed. "Very well. If you love me as much as you think – surely you will trust me in whatever I have you do to prove your worthy love"

"Yes," the prince explained overcome with happiness. "Yes, anything. Anything for you, my love."

The beautiful woman turned her gaze towards the window and smiled. "I wish for you to jump out of your windowsill."

The prince slowly stood up, his naked body as still as a statue. "But surely that would kill me."

"If you trust in this love you have for me you will live," she explained, turning her face to the prince. "And if you don't truly love me – you will die."

As the prince looked into her eyes he became entranced with her beauty, she was luminous. Without saying a word he turned his body towards the windowsill, walking towards it slowly. The young lady sat perfectly still, ignoring the prince, her face towards the bed reminiscing how much she had enjoyed herself just moments ago.

"I love you." The prince said, reassuring himself. Closing his eyes, he jumped and fell to his death.

Sighing heavily the mistress lifted herself up and walked to the window, looking down at the now dead prince.

"Such a pity," she said to herself. "He was very handsome."

* * *

><p>In the months that followed the young lady found herself a new city to rule. The city welcomed the mysterious beauty with open arms, never looking further into how their beloved prince came to such a death. Her beauty proved to be her greatest weapon, and when she realized she was one month pregnant nothing could have been worse for the young princess.<p>

"My body is growing weak," she explained to her servant as she rested on her bed. "This child is taking my youth, once they're born nothing will ever be the same."

Lying on her back, the princess turned her faced toward her servant. The woman bowed before the princess and came forward, placing her hand on the young lady's forehead.

"You have a slight fever but it's nothing to worry about, princess." The servant explained. "In my humble opinion, princess – you look absolutely radiant. You have a natural glow to your aura, it is beautiful...you are beautiful."

The woman bent down, closed her eyes and pressed her lips against the radiant princess.

Breaking the kiss, the princess spoke. "I hope you understand that I will never love you." The servant nodded and the princess turned her face away from her. "Then do with me what you wish, I always enjoy being released."

Having slept with many men and women in her life the princess saw no difference to gender and accepted anyone into her arms no matter how repulsive or otherwise they were. She simply loved being loved, and with her circumstances the physical aspect of love was the only part she could truly enjoy, and when she came to this conclusion she decided to exploit it.

"Guards, come quick!" Cried the princess.

Rushing inside her chambers, the guards came to see the princesses servant hanging by a rope latched to the ceiling. The princess looked at the men who were no longer looking at the body but at her. Sitting on her table naked, she starred at the men with lust in her eyes.

The men dropped their swords, entranced they came forward and the princess smiled, welcoming all three men into her arms and soon claiming their lives by making them fight to the death.

In the following months that passed, the princess grew bigger. She was unsure of who the father was, but suspected it might be the prince who ruled before her. Looking at herself in the mirror she became disgusted with what she saw and was saddened by how people started to act towards her. The people who worked for her no longer cared to tell her how beautiful and radiant she was. With her new found loneliness came a new hatred for the creature that grew inside her. This hatred burned inside her blood and when the time came for her to deliver she requested that she be alone.

Many of the staff were hesitant to leave such a task to the princess alone, but they gave in when she persisted.

With all her strength she pushed and pushed, until finally the princess gave birth to a baby boy. As she examined the child she saw that he possessed the same gift as her; the gift of eternal beauty and adoration. Unaffected by her child's charms, she grabbed a nearby pillow and pressed it to the newborns face. There could only be one that possessed such a gift, and the princess knew that killing her child was essential to her survival.

But when the chamber doors suddenly burst open, and the princesses staff stood before her, they were shocked at what they saw. Before them was their beloved princess naked, covered in sweat and blood, hovering over her child, suffocating him. At this time her beauty was no longer a virtue and her staff saw her for what she truly was; a monster.

In a few hours the message was delivered to the entire city that the princess was to be executed for her crimes and the next day she stood among the village. With chains around her ankles, wrists and neck, she was dragged through the town until she came to the edge of a very high cliff. She turned to face the crowd that waited in anticipation for her plea but instead she left them with something else.

Her emerald eyes burning with hatred, she scanned the people and began to laugh widely.

"Look at you fools! You think this is over by killing me? You are wrong – you are dead wrong!" She screamed, her voice hoarse. "My son is not to be trusted, just as I was never to be trusted. He will destroy this city, leaving nothing but dead bodies behind it. But none of you will be able to looking beyond his appearance to notice and you will all parish!"

The once beautiful mistress stood pale and malnourished, her hair was in knots and her skin seemed extremely oily. She turned away from the crowd and closed her eyes. She could feel tears streaming down her cheeks and felt such an emptiness inside her being. Sighing heavily she took a step forward and fell to her death, falling along the rocks at the bottom of the cliff's edge.

The people rushed to see her remains but were shocked to find nothing but a brightly coloured golden dust that covered the rocky shore. As confused as they were the people disregarded it and rejoiced in her death.

Back in the chambers of the princess, the staff watched the child as he lay asleep in a cradle assembled by the servants.

Finally coming to an agreement of what to do with him, one of the servants spoke. "He will be raised here among our people, and he will never know of such a disgraceful mother."

The staff nodded in agreement, and smiled down at the tiny infant.

"My goodness, he is a beauty." One of the servants said.

"Yes, he is unlike any child I have ever seen," said another servant. "We will raise this child to be a fine young man."

The staff smiled down at the beautiful infant, knowing in their hearts that he was destined for greatness, and naming him – Edward.


End file.
